A general AC generator for vehicle comprises a housing in which a stator including stator cores and stator coils wound thereon is fitted, a rotor including a rotary shaft and pole cores fitted thereon, field coils by which the pole cores are magnetized, brackets for supporting the rotor through bearings, a rectifier, and a voltage regulator, the rotor being supported at the neighborhood of opposite ends thereof through the bearings so as to be able to rotate inside the stator. Main heating portions of this type of AC generator for vehicle are the stator cores, stator coils, rectifier, voltage regulator and so on.
An example of cooling means of the AC generator for vehicle is disclosed in JP-A-10-225060. It is disclosed in this publication that the cooling means comprises a first cooling liquid passage through which a cooling liquid is made to flow and which is provided around a stator, e.g. a passage provided in the wall of a housing, and a second cooling liquid passage through which the cooling liquid is made to flow and which is provided around a rectifier and a voltage regulator, e.g. a passage provided in a bracket to which the rectifier and the voltage regulator are to be mounted, the first and second cooling liquid passages being connected in series. It is also disclosed that a third cooling liquid passage is provided in another bracket and connected to the second cooling liquid passage through the first cooling liquid passage.
In the prior art described above, however, the cooling liquid passages are provided separately in the housing, the front bracket and the rear bracket, so that the structure is complicated. This gave rise to the problems of an increase in the mass of parts and a rise in the cost needed for connecting the cooling liquid passages.